Running for Jen

I felt better than expected while out on my run this morning.  I still had a headache when I got up which I am assuming is sinus related.  The headache did go away once I got out there, although the Tylenol 8-Hour may have had something to do with it.  It was mild and overcast, which made it a decent morning for a run.  The only downside was that I still have a cold, which meant I had to blow my nose every mile.  At least I could breathe while I was out there.  I was very happy to get through all 10 miles.  I had to stop a few times due to some uncontrollable hacking.  All in all, it was good run and I was happy to be able to complete it.

My run was terrible this morning.  I didn't feel so hot before I went out there, but hoped that once I got started that I would feel better.  I was okay, but would have to stop to cough or gag as the case tended to be.  It was also very humid.  I went out hoping for 10 miles as I did yesterday, but by mile 4, I knew that it was not going to happen as I already felt the need to walk.  I decided to call it a day and head home.  I have no regrets about decision.

I ran after work today and was very happy to get 8 miles in.  I am always hoping for at least 7, so needless to say I was happy.  I was also relieved to get this in since it rained almost all day.  It actually stopped raining on my way home from work, and didn't start again until the end of my last mile.  I felt pretty good although my legs felt tired during the first couple of miles.

Only six miles this morning due to time constraints.  I am typing this almost a week after I ran it and forgot how the day went (this is what happens when I don't put in my entries on a daily basis.).

I am not used to running on Wednesday's, but since this Friday is going to be a long one (school dance is that night), I decided to run this morning instead.  Needless to say, that means that I am back at the gym.  The run was okay, but I was only able to get six miles in due to having to stop every mile to blow my nose and throw my tissue away.  I didn't want to be gross at the gym.  Hopefully, the cold is making its way out of me.

I was back at the gym this morning.  I was concerned for a while that I would only get 6 miles in as I did yesterday, but I really wanted to get 7 in and was able to do so.  I didn't feel the rush to get to work since we were going on a field trip today and I was prepared to go.  I felt pretty good all the way through.  I did speed up the last mile by increasing the pace every 2/10 of a mile.

I decided to go my other route today versus my standard Saturday route.  It was warm and I wasn't sure of placement for my water bottle on my other run.  I haven't had my water bottle out with me all winter and realize that it is starting to get too warm to go without it.  The weather was a mix of sun, clouds and wind. I felt stressed due to the fact that our state standardized test results came out the previous day.  When I saw them initially yesterday, I was fairly upset and disappointed and that rolled over into this run (I have since looked at the numbers closer and I feel much better about them).  I tried to pay attention to the music I was listening to to focus my attention away from work.  It helped at times.  I will be happy when this school year is over in a couple of weeks.

From a time standpoint, this is one of the best runs that I have had in quite a while.  I was able to complete the distance in just over an hour and 48  minutes, which is about 6 minutes faster than what I had done the previous day.  Now, I still think that I should be down at least to 1:40:00, but I am hoping that once school is done, I will be much more rested, which will lead to better times.  The weather was good, sunny, but  a tad cool.  I also felt good, not nearly as stressed as I had been the day before.

I had a really good run at the gym today.  I started off feeling good and was able to finish strong.  For the first 3 miles I slowly increased the pace so that by mile 4, I was at a 10:00 minute mile.  I was able to finish at this pace, with the only breaks occurring so that I could blow the old nose.

I ran this morning, but chose to do so outside.  Normally, I would have gone to the gym, but due to time constraints, I thought that I would run outside.  It was nice and cool outside, which felt good.  It was dark the whole time, which is why I prefer to run at the gym at this hour.  I felt fairly safe, but I probably won't due this too often.  This is actually only the second time that I have run outside at this early of an hour.  I felt good the whole time outside of the nose running.

I was tired this morning after a long day of work the previous day, but I felt okay during this workout.  I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill.   I had to stop at 6 since I had a meeting at 7:30.  

I was back at the gym this morning.  Once again, I was tired but felt alright.  I was able to get to my 10:00 minute/ mile pace by the start of mile 4. For mile 7, I was able to increase my speed to a 9:50 minute mile and then a 9:40 minute mile to finish.  My legs definitely felt weak by the end.

It was a pretty nice morning for a run, although it did get quite warm out by the time I finished.  I crave sleep these days so I allowed myself to sleep in.  Unfortunately, that meant that I did not get out the door until 9:00am.  I actually felt pretty good for the first 7-8 miles, but after that the fatigue and the heat of the sun kicked in.  I felt strong going up most of the hills and really tried to push myself throughout.  I only have just over a week of school to go before I am off for the summer, therefore I should be well rested and fairly stress-free in the upcoming weeks.

It became very toasty outside today.  The temperature at the bank that I ran past showed 83 degrees and I was only a little over 2 miles in at that point.  It is getting to that point where I am going to have to start getting up earlier, especially for the 10-milers.  Today did not go as well as yesterday, but it wasn't bad.  The heat would start to get to me periodically.  I have started leaving a water bottle out there that I move throughout my run.  It is a bit of a pain, but necessary now that the warm weather is here.  I felt okay during most of the run, really trying to push myself up the hills.  I would say that the only lousy mile that I had was mile 10.  I was feeling tired and ready to call it a day.

I thought that I was going to have to cut this one short for a while, but thankfully, I was able to get the last mile in.  I ran into a work issue this morning that delayed my entry into the gym.  Normally, work wouldn't be a factor at this hour, but unfortunately it was.  My run went well.  I was trying to push it, because I knew that I was going to cut it close on time.  I almost stopped after 6 miles, but I hate to start the week cutting a run a short and I felt up to that last mile, so I went for it.  I am glad I did, although my leg was really feeling funky that last 1/4 mile.  I was able to get to my 10:00 minute/ mile pace going by mile 4 and I did take it up for the last mile.

I decided to run outside this morning even though it would be dark.  Since I felt okay last week, I thought that I would it again this morning.  It seemed much darker this morning.  The major difference was the lack of moonlight.  I adjusted my route so that I was running under more street lights.  Everything worked out and by the time I finished mile 4, the sky started to light up.  The weather was nice, probably in the lower 60's.

I was a bit tired at the start of this one, which took place at the gym.  My legs just didn't want to move.  Of course, after  2-3 miles, my body woke up and I was fine.  I got through all 7 miles which was my goal for the day.

Last day of work with the kids!  Of course, I was tired this morning, but there was that sense of relief too.  It took a couple of miles for me to get going on the treadmill.  I was able to get through all 7 miles with minimal issues (weakness in the right leg towards the end).

This run was not pretty!  I did not think that I would make it the whole way.  It was warm, but not that bad.  My legs felt as though they were carrying a few extra pounds.  I found myself stopping to walk quite a bit, not for very long, but often.  I will say that once I got up and over the last big hill, I actually felt better.  That is when I chose to go the distance versus stopping a mile short.

My original plan was to go 10 miles today, but I needed to get home and do some cleaning before my mother-in-law arrived from out of town.  I got up at 6:05, which I was content with, but felt that given the situation, I should stop at 8.  I felt alright, although I did feel the need to walk on occasion.  I had GPS watch issues yesterday, which I forgot to add to that blog.  I somehow managed to change one of the setting from miles to feet.  It bothered me to the point that I took it off yesterday and didn't bother with it today.  Since I was up early, the air felt pretty good at the start, but by the time I was done, it was starting to warm up.

This was my last 5:00am run for a while.  Today is the last day that of work for me, no kids, just grades and packing up.  My run went alright at the gym.  I had a bit more time this morning, but still only got 7 miles in.  It took me until mile 4 to get up to my 10:00 minute/ mile pace.  I know that I could have run after work, but did not know how tired I would be.  It was a smart choice as I didn't get home until after 6:00pm.

It was so nice to sleep in and then go for my run.  Today is day 1 of my summer vacation (although officially it is a furlough day).  I didn't feel as though I had much at the start, but was able to persevere.  I realized as I was running that there was that part of me that wanted to stop after 7 or 8, but realized that I had no valid excuse to cut it short.  Needless to say, I was happy to get all 10 miles in.  My time wasn't good.  I am hoping that as I get more rest, my times will start to get better.

I wanted to get anywhere from 7 - 10 in this morning.  I had a hair appointment at 11:15am and still needed time to shower and eat before I went to the salon.  I was able to get 8 miles in, therefore I was satisfied with the distance.  I won't be able to run again until at least Saturday afternoon since I won't be able to wash my hair (I can't sweat, which is why I have to wait to run).

This seemed like the first time in quite a while where I did not get 10 miles in on a Saturday where I was not racing.  It was warm, which is what I expected.  I wasn't able to get started until 2:00pm, because of the recent hairdo appointment.  I debated going to the gym, but just did not feel like going there.  It seemed like a production for some reason.  Needless to say, I chose to run outside.  The clouds that had been with us all morning decided to slowly move away.  It was hot when that sun was out.  When the sun did hide behind the clouds (not as often as I had hoped), it wasn't too bad.  I did feel a bit spent by the end, which is why I decided to run 8 instead of 10.

We had a late night last evening, but when I woke up this morning to let one of my dogs out, I noticed that it was overcast and not too hot.  I felt as though I would be better off staying up and going for my run, versus sleeping in.  I made the right decision.  I had a nice run.  I really tried to push myself, especially since I am racing tomorrow morning.  I felt much better today than I did yesterday.  I am still not satisfied with my time, but it was an improvement over yesterday.

Well, this race was better than the last one as far as time goes, but this is the first race since we moved that I did not place in my age group.  I knew the day would come, I just didn't know when.  Compared to my past two races, I did alright.  My time finally came down, therefore I am hoping that my times will continue to improve.  It was warm, muggy and it started to rain again during the last mile (it had been raining on and off all morning).  The course was a bit hilly, especially during the first mile, but I can't complain too much.  I finished the first mile in 7:30, the 2nd mile was somewhere between 7:40 and less than 8:00 (I did not hear the beep at mile 2 from my watch), with the last 1.1 in around 9:30, which means I slowed down big time.  I don't recall slowing down that much, but I do remember a lot of moaning on my part.  I did feel nauseated during the 2nd half of the race, which I thought was a good sign that I was working hard.  Based on my 26:07 time at the last race, I was happy that I knocked over a minute off that time.  Obviously, my goal is to get back to close to 24:00, which is where I was around this past January.  We will see how I feel in the morning, which for me is good sign as to how hard I raced.